Purisima Pabelico Labao's Obituary
Purisima “Puring” Pabelico Labao
December 8, 1926 to April 27, 2023
Purisima “Puring” Pabelico Labao was the eldest of nine children born to Lope Pabelico and Aurelia Dizon Pabelico in Santa Ana, Manila, Philippines. At the age of 12, and before her youngest sibling was born, her father, Lope, transitioned from this life. She would later witness the bombing of Manila during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines and recalls one of her uncles running to the store, likely to gather rations, before the bombing started. Sadly, he never returned. Witnessing such tragedy and loss at an early age would shape and prepare her for a life that would leave a profound legacy within her family and the many communities and organizations she served.
Puring studied college business courses which would ultimately lead her to a job with Philippine Airlines or PAL. Four other siblings would later follow suit, and they would often joke that PAL stood for Pabelico Airlines. In December 1950, she would travel to California on vacation. During her time in San Diego, she caught the eye of Delfin Labao, of Baliuag, Bulacan, a Chief in the U.S. Navy. He soon proposed to her, and they were married on January 27, 1951.
Delfin and Puring welcomed the arrival of twin boys in June 1954. However, due to complications, Peter was stillborn, and Anthony transitioned at the age of 28 months old. In three consecutive years following the loss of their sons, Delfin and Puring would proudly welcome the birth of three daughters: Anamaria, Guadalupe, and Teresita. In early 1960, Puring would experience a miscarriage. After spending the remainder of the decade raising her children, Puring eventually reentered the workforce in 1970. She would first work for the Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee on Anti-Poverty, also known as the MAAC Project, and later began her civil service career with the Department of the Navy where she worked for Air Pacific Fleet and the Naval Supply Center until she retired in 1985.
Though Puring and Delfin were proud citizens in service of their adopted county, their connection to their Filipino heritage would inspire a lifetime of leadership within the Filipino American community of San Diego. Delfin’s involvement with the Filipino American Veterans Association led to Purings involvement in the Filipino Women’s Club in 1951 where she was sworn in as an officer. Together they were founding members of the House of the Philippines of Balboa Park in 1961 and PASACAT in 1970 where she served as board of directors secretary for over thirty years.
The central pillar of Puring’s life was her unwavering faith which was cultivated early in her life through her Catholic upbringing, especially through The Church. She shared her devout faith with her daughters by attending mass faithfully and praying the Rosary routinely as a family during their formative years. After retiring from work, her daily prayer routine would include numerous Marian devotions and novenas to Catholic saints using stacks of prayer cards each morning which. In the evening she would also read the prayers of the Divine Office. She lived her Cursillo in 1978 at Whispering Winds.
St. Rita’s Parish is what became her apostolate. With Delfin as Chair of the Filipino Synod for the Diocese of San Diego in 1973, they presented a resolution which brought the first Filipino missionary priest to the Diocese of San Diego in 1976. In May 1977, she coordinated the first Flores de Mayo and established the pilgrimage of the image of the Blessed Mary as the first Filipino “block” prayer group at St. Rita Catholic Church. Over the years this prayer group grew to seven individual prayer blocks within the Filipino American Community of St. Rita, each with their own traveling image of the Blessed Mother. It has since expanded to include the Samoan, Hispanic and African American communities of the parish.
Delfin and Puring helped establish the Filipino American Community of St. Rita, also known as FACSR, in 1987 as Chair and Secretary, under the guidance of Father Dennis Macalintal and Pastorship of Msgr. Francis Pattison. The tradition of Simbang Gabi was first held in December 1987 at St. Rita’s auditorium, a tradition that has continued each Christmas without interruption.
Puring enjoyed her time with Block 3 (prayer group 3 at St. Rita), who for many, became a second mother to all. They often would help drive her throughout town when Delfin was no longer able to, and also after his passing in 2008. Her favorite foods were fresh noodle pansit, hot pandesal, the red bean pastry from 85oC, and anything with ampalaya. She taught her daughters how to make adobo, pancit sotanghon, pancit bihon, siopao and kare-kare. She loved to wear red hoodie jackets and t-shirts that declared her faith or Filipino culture. She was a jokester and had a great memory. On the Wednesday prior to her passing, Father Lawrence Agi, Chaplain at Mercy Scripps, came to anoint her. She pointed to him and said “God is good!”, a common phrase he would often use to engage the congregation and, though she had not seen him in nearly eight years, Puring vividly recalled that he always would say this during mass at St. Rita.
While her world shrank, she was comfortable in her National City home of sixty-four years as well as the surrounding community. She loved shopping at Walmart and Smart&Final where she would enjoy pushing her cart throughout the store. However, the place she always longed to be was St. Rita Catholic Church. The last masses she attended were the Easter Vigil and Divine Mercy Sunday. When at home, she would tune in to Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) daily at noontime for the Divine Mercy Chaplet and then daily mass at 4 PM.
On the morning of April 25th, Puring suffered a medium stroke and was unable to fully recover. However, while in the hospital, with her lively spirit in the days prior to her passing, she bragged to her physical therapist that she exercised in bed by doing 100 push pedals daily and also jokingly jeered for Fernando Tatis while watching the San Diego Padres. Soon after she would answer the call of our Heavenly Father. Her children and grandchildren gathered around her bed, including her favorite “son”, Father Ven Ricafort, who led the final anointing. After the prayer, her family sang two verses of Hail Holy Queen and prayed her favorite prayer, the Memorare, as she took her final breath. It was a movie-perfect-ending and the Happy Death that she had prayed for in the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. She was called back to our Lord on April 27, 2023 at 12:28 PM.
Puring was preceded in death by her husband, Delfin (who lived to 96 years and 9 months) and twin sons; her mother and father; her sister Amparo; and brothers, Tony, Susing and Peding. She is survived by sisters Mila Bernardo, Lourdes Pabelico, Cora Gonzales and Chit Alvarillo; sister-in-laws Lulu Pabelico and Gloria Pabelico-Lantin; daughters and son-in-laws, Ana, Lupe & Art Macario, Tess & Chuck Paquette; five grandchildren, Joyelle Cabato, Gemma Cabato (Matthew Padrigan); Nicholas (Katherine) Macario, Daniel Macario, Rachael (Ojay) Manalang; eight great grandchildren; Gabriella & Madeline Macario, Isaiah, Juliana & Kylie Macario, Noa & Zion Manalang, and Idiyanale Padrigan.
Though she will be missed, she leaves a legacy of faith and culture in her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and all those who were mobilized and inspired by her leadership and devotion to the Blessed Mother Mary, The Mother Church and the land of her birth, the Philippines.
The Rosary, Vigil & Celebration of Life for Purisima will be held on Friday, May 12, the Feast of Our Lady of the Abandoned, her parish in Sta. Ana and the date she has always hosted the Rosary since 1977. It will be held at St. Rita Catholic Church, 5124 Churchward, San Diego, 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm.
The Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, May 13, 2pm at Mater Dei Church, 1751 Magdalena Avenue, Chula Vista.
Interment immediately follows at Holy Cross Cemetery, 4470 Hilltop Drive, San Diego.
Fiesta Celebration for Purisima at 4:00 pm at St. Rita Annex Auditorium, 5124 Churchward, San Diego
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